Drop Bars with Flat Section

sam_m

A flat section where you grip the bars in the drop, I mean, rather than a continuous curve.

I notice a lot of aftermarket bars have this flat section, whereas the stock bars on my bike are continuously curved (and in quite a tight curve, at that).

I'm pretty sure I have some more setting up issues to get my bike right for me, as I seem to be leaning far too much weight onto my wrists at the moment, but I was just wondering if using bars with this flat section might alleviate some pressure from the wrist. I've suffered with pretty severe wrist pain for a couple of years now, so every little thing I can do to take some stress away from the affected area is something I'm very interested in.

At the moment I don't spend too much time cycling in the drops, but could this be something worth considering for the future?

Edit - I also wonder if my bars might be too narrow for me - could this also be a contributing factor?

Monty Dog

I suspect you're talking about 'ergo' bars which have a flat section on the drops - or taken to the extreme by the likes of Ritchey and 3T who produced bars with an inverted bend. These bars have more recently dropped out of favour due to the advent of a 'compact' handlebar which features a shallower drop i.e. top to bottom and less forward throw - suggest you look at one of these. FSA Omegas for example are available for about £20. Rough guide is that bar should be the width of shoulders - typically 42-44cm for most.

sam_m

Cheers Monty - it was/is ergo bars that I was talking about.

I've only read a little about this, so will carry on doing do - I've measured my shoulders in a couple of ways and think it's likely that I could use some wider bars.